Boozer leads Jazz past Pacers

SALT LAKE CITY(AP) -- In between a fantastic start and strong
finish, the Utah Jazz played two sloppy quarters that nearly
cost them their longest winning streak of the season.

The Jazz managed to avoid blowing a 19-point lead, letting it
slip only to four before holding off the Indiana Pacers 96-87 on
Friday night.

"During the second half it looked like we thought the game was
going to be easy but they came right back and played hard and we
had to grind it out," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "These are
the kinds of games you don't always win."

Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with a season-high 35 points,
including nine of Utah's 17 points in the fourth quarter. The
Jazz had to overcome 10 turnovers in the second half and foul
trouble that hampered point guards Deron Williams and Eric
Maynor much of the game.

Utah also had several long scoring droughts that allowed the
Pacers to keep it close even after the Jazz's 22-3 run to start
the game.

"We're winning right now and that's the most important thing,"
said Boozer, who also pulled down 13 rebounds and has 12
double-doubles in 18 games this season.

Williams finished with 13 assists and 11 points, and rookie
Wesley Matthews added 18 points, setting a season high for the
second straight game.

"Forget that - we won," said Matthews, who topped the 17 points
he scored Monday in a win over Memphis. "We started out and
jumped on them in the first quarter and then we kind of backed
off a bit. You can't do that."

Danny Granger led Indiana with 26 points. Troy Murphy had 16
points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who never quite recovered
after opening the game 4 for 16 from the floor and scoring just
14 in the first quarter.

"You're not going to win many games getting out to a start like
that," Murphy said.

Indiana managed to keep it close by making 8 of 27 3-pointers,
but the Pacers hurt themselves throughout the night at the foul
line, where they went 25 for 34.

"Our guys played with a tremendous amount of force when they got
down," coach Jim O'Brien said. "They competed and they put
themselves in position to win, but we missed way too many foul
shots."

Indiana fell to 0-3 on a four-game trip, which ends Saturday at
the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Jazz hadn't played since Monday and were sluggish in between
the quick start and the rally that put away the Pacers late in
the fourth quarter.

Utah didn't score in the fourth quarter until Boozer's
three-point play put the Jazz ahead 82-72 with 9:18 to go, but
Granger and Brandon Rush answered for the Pacers with
back-to-back 3-pointers. Rush's shot with 8:36 left in the game
cut it to 82-78, the closest the game had been since early in
the first quarter.

But that was as close as it would get. Boozer got inside again
for a layup with 6:02 remaining to start a 6-2 run that gave
Utah a big enough cushion to hold.

Paul Millsap added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who
went 5-1 on a six-game homestand. Friday's win could have easily
been a blowout, but instead ended up being close enough at the
end that Utah's starters were still on the floor with a long
flight to Minnesota for a game Saturday still to go.

"We knew they were going to make a run and we knew they were
going to get out and push the ball and shoot themselves back
into the game," Millsap said. "When they do that, you have to
stand strong."

After the disastrous first quarter, the Pacers were 9-of-14 in
the second and outscored the Jazz 30-25. It would have been
worse, but Matthews scored on a three-point play with 37 seconds
left in the half, then just beat the shot clock on a 3-pointer
with three seconds remaining to give Utah a 57-44 halftime lead.

NOTES: The Jazz wore throwback green uniforms, the same design
the team had when it moved from New Orleans to Utah 30 years
ago. ... Matthews was coming off career bests for points with 17
on Monday in a win over Memphis. ... Boozer's previous season
high was 28 points against Chicago on Thanksgiving. ... The
Pacers have lost four straight to the Jazz. ... Utah shooting
guard C.J. Miles made his season debut after missing two months
with a torn thumb ligament. He went scoreless in 12:44.